Al Pratt (Earth-1938)
Origin Al Pratt was always a very bright boy. Born to a working-class family in Steel City, Al loved science from a young age. However, he didn't love school. Bullies targeted Al due to his intelligence and short stature. Much to Al's dismay, he remained very short for his age. He hoped that he could get into college and really show his strength. Fate intervened. When Al was just seventeen, he was drafted into the Vietnam War. Nicknamed "Atom Al" by his fellow soldiers, Al spent the next year fighting for his life in Vietnam. One day, his troop was attacked. An older soldier was shot in the leg. Al slung the older man over his back and ran back to the camp, even after Al himself was shot in the arm. Al was honorably discharged from the army and finally went back home. He decided to follow his original plan: go to college to get a degree. Al went to Ivy University and began to study physics. While he got some teasing, he became friends with a nursing student named Mary Emerson. Still shaken from his time in the war, Al was fairly withdrawn from the world. Mary was the one person Al felt at ease with. Al couldn't shake his trauma. He felt both anger at the other side for killing his commanders and guilt for killing members of the opposing army. These conflicting emotions cause Al even more stress. He would soon find an outlet for his feelings. One day, Al got a call from the solider Al saved back Vietnam. The soldier, Joe Morgan, was a famous boxer and wanted to pay Al back for saving his life. Al thought back to the reports he saw of "Mystery Men", masked heroes who saved people. Some like Wildcat didn't even seem to have powers. Al had an idea. Al wanted Joe to teach him how to box. After months of training, Al put on a costume and reclaimed his old mocking nickname. He became the Atom, the hero of Ivy Town. The Mighty Mite Destiny would lead Al to a strange place. While on a visit to New York to attend a lecture at Hudson University, Al ended up a witness to Vandal Savage's assault on the city. Al quickly suited to help clear out civilians and defend against the undead warriors Savage had raised. Eventually, Vandal was defeated by the heroes who had come to help. Al was invited to join the Justice Society and quickly accepted. Al enjoyed being around his new teammates. He found something he had missing: friends. He was particularly close to Hawkman and Phantom Lady. Ironically, Al would even end up befriending a villain. When the JSA and the rest of the world were fighting with Steppenwolf, Al ended fighting with a villain called "Cyclotron". During the fight, Al was exposed to a dangerous amount of radiation. He almost came to realize that Cyclotron was being forced to fight against his will due to Steppenwolf holding his wife and daughter hostage. Al freed Cyclotron from his forced servitude. Cyclotron joined the World Army and became best friends with Al. Al, himself, began to feel some changes. He was worried that Cyclotron's energy might have done more than they originally thought. Still, Al continued fighting against evil. Eventually, Al, Cyclotron and other members of the World Army found the place where Steppenwolf was keeping the captives. The mission went south quickly. Knowing this was the last chance to save his daughter, Cyclotron decided to sacrifice himself so that Al had a chance to save the captives. Al tried to stop him but, was unable to. Cyclotron thanked Al for being a great teammate and friend and asked him to care of his daughter. Cyclotron then bombed the Parademon hordes, at the cost of his own life. Horrified, Al was stunned for a moment. Soon, a new horde of Parademons appeared. Al was injured and physically exhausted, Al still knew he couldn't let his friend now. Without even thinking, Al grew to a gigantic height and was able to defeat the horde. He then freed the captives. When reinforcements arrived, Al shrunk back down to normal size and passed out. Retirement When Al woke up, he was greeted by Mary. She had discovered who he was and raced to his side when she found out how bad he was injured. Al apologized for not being honest with Mary. He soon recovered with the help of his newly discovered metahuman abilities. After he was better, Al sought out Terry's young daughter, Theresa. He learned that Theresa's mother had been killed while trying to escape some time ago, leaving Theresa an orphan. Al adopted Theresa to fulfill his friend's dying wish. Al's ability to grow to gigantic sizes made him an extremely valuable asset to the World Army. Eventually, the Parademon threat was driven back and Steppenwolf was defeated. Al decided to retire after the war, feeling weary after losing so many friends and now having a kid to look after. He took a job at his old school, Ivy University, as a physics professor. Al greatly enjoyed both his job and spending time with his family. Near Theresa's high school graduation, Mary found out she was pregnant. They had long believed one or both of them were unable to have children, so this was a happy shock to the whole family. After Theresa left for college and while Al was at work, Mary was kidnapped by JSA enemies. Mary was due in a month at this time was put under a great deal of stress. Al and Miss America saved Mary but, she had gone into premature labor. Miss America was able to save the child and Al now had a son. Al was thrilled. Al and his family lived a happy life but, he was soon developed serious health issues. Before he died, Al visited one of his favorite students: Ray Palmer. Al had learned that Ray was working on a belt that could shrink himself down. So, when he heard reports of criminals claiming a tiny man defeated, Al knew who is was. Al assured Ray, he wouldn't reveal Ray's secret on two conditions: 1. Ray must use his belt for good and 2. Ray takes up Al's old codename, the Atom. Three days, Al passed away, with his wife, children, grandchild and most of his old friends by his side. And with the knowledge, his legacy would be continued, in more ways than one. Powers & Abilities Al's Metahuman powers included: Size Alteration: Al could increase his size to about 30 feet tall. When in this height, Al had also s'uper-strength, superhuman stamina, enhanced speed, and enhanced durability Al was extremely intelligent, excelling in physics. He was also an expert boxer. '''''Trivia -Al became the Atom in 1973. -Al was born on October 19, 1951 - Al was known for having a short temper espeically when he thought people were mocking him. Only his family (Mary, Terri, Grant and Terri's son, Albert) and closest friends could make fun of him without him blowing up. -Al was good friends was Martin Stein and was even attended Martain's wedding to his wife.Category:Created by MaysileeAurlis Category:Earth-1938 Category:Earth-1938 Characters Category:Heroes Category:Justice Society (Earth-1938) Category:Deceased Characters of Earth-1938 Category:Metahumans of Earth-1938 Category:Size Alteration Category:Super Strength Category:Super Durability